₦airaland Forum

Herders’ Group MACBAN Condemns Sunday Igboho Pardon As ‘Tribal Justice’, Accuses Him Of Attacks On Fulani’


An umbrella organisation for Fulani cattle herders and pastoralists in Nigeria, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), has condemned the presidential pardon granted to Yoruba self-determination activist Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho.

The organisation described the pardon as a grave miscarriage of justice and a painful reminder of the Nigerian state’s failure to protect Fulani lives in Oyo State.

A statement issued on Tuesday by MACBAN’s South-West Zone said the pardon has reopened deep wounds caused by violent attacks allegedly carried out by Igboho and his supporters against Fulani settlements between 2020 and 2021.

The statement was signed by Alhaji Mumini Muhammad, Coordinator of MACBAN in the South-West, who said the decision to pardon Igboho has been met with deep anger, pain, and total rejection by Fulani communities.

According to the statement, Sunday Igboho was directly responsible for a series of violent attacks on Fulani herders and settlements in Oyo State and neighbouring areas, including killings, arson, destruction of homes, theft of cattle, and the forced displacement of families who had lived peacefully in the area for years.

“These acts did not occur in secrecy,” they stated. “They were carried out openly, publicly, and in full view of the authorities. Many of us witnessed these attacks personally, and evidence of these crimes exists.”

MACBAN identified the January 22, 2021 attack in Igangan, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State, as a particularly traumatic episode, describing it as a painful reference point in which Fulani lives were lost, homes were razed, and entire families were permanently displaced.

The group said similar attacks occurred in Iseyin and along major routes across Oyo State, where Fulani herders travelling or conducting their lawful businesses were allegedly killed without provocation.

“These were not rumours, misunderstandings, or unverified allegations,” the association insisted. “They were deliberate acts of violence.”

Beyond the pardon itself, the herders’ group expressed concerns over the role played by the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, whom the report accused of facilitating and championing the pardon process.

According to MACBAN, it is widely known that Sunday Igboho served for decades as Oba Ladoja’s personal bodyguard, a relationship the group said raises serious moral and ethical questions.

The association posed a series of pointed questions to the traditional ruler and authorities in Oyo State.

“Was Oba Rashidi Ladoja not present in Oyo State when these atrocities were committed?” they asked.

“Was he unaware when Fulani communities were attacked, homes burned, cattle stolen, and innocent people killed?

Why was there no official condemnation, investigation, intervention, or compensation from the Oyo State Government or traditional institutions at the time these crimes were committed?”

MACBAN said it is unacceptable that Fulani victims were met with silence while, in contrast, swift political and institutional efforts were later mobilised to secure Igboho’s freedom and eventual pardon.

The group also drew attention to troubling inconsistency in Nigeria’s justice system, comparing Igboho’s pardon with the continued detention and prosecution of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

“Nnamdi Kanu committed actions that the Nigerian state classified as threats to national security and was arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned,” the statement stated.

“Yet a Yoruba man who carried out violent acts resulting in deaths, displacement, and destruction is granted a presidential pardon.”

This disparity, MACBAN said, raises fundamental questions about equality before the law in Nigeria.

“Does justice in Nigeria now depend on ethnicity?” they asked.

“Does the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu apply the law equally, or does it favour one tribe over others?”

The group said the pardon represents a slap in the face of Fulani victims, including widows, widowers, orphans, and families displaced by the violence.

According to the association, the decision undermines public trust in government, weakens national unity, and sends a dangerous message that some lives are expendable or negotiable.

“The Fulani community is not asking for revenge,” the report stressed. “We are demanding justice.”

MACBAN outlined a set of demands it said must be addressed to restore confidence and prevent further ethnic resentment.

"We therefore demand the following: A formal acknowledgment by the Federal Government of the crimes committed against Fulani communities in Oyo State

"Compensation for all affected families, including the displaced Seriki Fulani of Oyo State and others who lost lives, homes, and livelihoods.

"A public explanation for the pardon granted to Sunday Igboho. A clear assurance that the Nigerian state does not operate a tribal justice system."

They noted that peace cannot exist where injustice is rewarded.

“National unity cannot survive where victims are ignored and perpetrators are celebrated. This report stands as a permanent record of our position and our demand for fairness, dignity, and equal justice under the law,” the group said.

SaharaReporters

The organisation described the pardon as a grave miscarriage of justice and a painful reminder of the Nigerian state’s failure to protect Fulani lives in Oyo State.

It's the audacity of this herdsmen for me..

Na yoruba bring this "see finish" on themselves

That one na freedom fighter abi na pocket fighter?

Nonsense and ingredients

So Igboho did wrong for confronting Fulani atrocities in our land

Igboho together with Amotekun are responsible for the calm in the SW today.

These MACBAN are maddd!!!

What is good for the goose is equally good for the gander

I see no reason why Chief Sunday Igboho should not be assisting our Presido in our new federal capital territory Sokoto.

LagosOrigin:
It's the audacity of this herdsmen for me..

Na yoruba bring this "see finish" on themselves

Yorubas go tell you say northerners dey pull this country backward but nah them dey drag this country backer ward.

If no be their greed for power wetin concern buhari for aso rock?

If you accuse him of attacking Fulani I won't lie that's good news to me

It's the confidence of this MACBAN terrorist organization that is just too broadened....

FG has really encouraged, emboldened them..with all the atrocities they have been committed...still they have the courage to come out and still talk...

khai
Institutions are really dead in this country..

Igboho go soon turn 2027 scape goat.

So despite the coup that was staged in Oyo secretariat to take over the government, Sunday Igboho got Presidential pardon?

Well, MACBAN just wanna fan the embers of Nnamdi Kanu' apologists.

We all supported Sunday Igboho's fight for justice

Nawa o, this country has been reduced to this. Herders are complaining of pardoning a single person sighting widows and widowers, forgetting how many people they have rendered homeless, childless, widowers, widows, etc

Sue him to court of law
We gat constitutions

MACBAN must be high on weed, the audacity to make such ridiculous statement is annoying, after their group have succeeded in killing innocent locals, they transformed themselves into criminals, all in the name of cattle rearing.
They must be sick upstairs.

C this fulani peoples oo that they use to kill peoples for their own town they say someone they attack

OLAADEGBU:
SaharaReporters

The organisation described the pardon as a grave miscarriage of justice and a painful reminder of the Nigerian state’s failure to protect Fulani lives in Oyo State.

What of the Fulani heardsmen that the terrorist government have been pardoning for killing people and destroying their farmlands?

That one na national justice.

Has these herders condemn their fellow ethnic herders committing attrocities ?

Nl seems to be partial in comment removal , a person asked if the Yorubas considered the failed coup against President Tinubu as Ha u s / Fu la coup which I responded yes . NL removed my comment and banned me but the comment I responded to was left alone .

Imagine the audacity from these macban abi na MacBook

If people truly lost lives and property, then government should explain clearly why a pardon was granted...🫤
Justice in Nigeria always looks selective. That’s why people are angry.🥱🥱🥱

APc is a tribalistic party

no doubt

Me trying to find a single f*ck to give about what the herders association have to say. Turns out I have runs out f*cks to give. The only reason the government started going after Igboho is because of he turned his anti-herdsmen activism to a seccessionist agenda, if not, I doubt the government will implicate itself by showing favouritism to the supposed villains in the attacks on communities.

These people are criminals

You haven't condemned activities of Bandits but you can condemn the pardon of a freedom fighter

Osun or Lagoon is available for them to dive into.

wetin concern Sunday Igboho with attempt to take over the government at the secretariat. he was never part of it at any time.

MyExpression:
So despite the coup that was staged in Oyo secretariat to take over the government, Sunday Igboho got Presidential pardon?

Well, MACBAN just wanna fan the embers of Nnamdi Kanu' apologists.

We all supported Sunday Igboho's fight for justice

When Buhari was pardoning abd condoning Miyetti Allah, where were you?

Idiotic talk. Where are the army/miyetti allah boys flogging Yoruba Obas?

This is nonsense. Why should Igboho be pardoned.

Igboho caused so much harm to many headers only for him to be pardoned

Dotherightthing:
Nonsense and ingredients

So Igboho did wrong for confronting Fulani atrocities in our land

Igboho together with Amotekun are responsible for the calm in the SW today.

These MACBAN are maddd!!!

Igboho was 100% wrong because:
1) He took laws into his own hands
2) He was attacking all Fulanis irrespective of whether they were innocent or not

AmishaCandra:
If people truly lost lives and property, then government should explain clearly why a pardon was granted...🫤
Justice in Nigeria always looks selective. That’s why people are angry.🥱🥱🥱

Did they lost lives n property in Herders attacks?

A bio , please for academic purpose is it possible to takeover a State (seat of the state government) , most especially when it is not located in the forest, where you climb seven mountains and cross seven seas.

MyExpression:
So despite the coup that was staged in Oyo secretariat to take over the government, Sunday Igboho got Presidential pardon?

Well, MACBAN just wanna fan the embers of Nnamdi Kanu' apologists.

We all supported Sunday Igboho's fight for justice

OLAADEGBU:
SaharaReporters

The organisation described the pardon as a grave miscarriage of justice and a painful reminder of the Nigerian state’s failure to protect Fulani lives in Oyo State.

MAGBAN is a terrorist organization